Ingrid Michaelson's 'most challenging year' of life inspires new music about mortality, equality

STATEN ISLAND, NY — Cleavage and a bouncing barrage of beefcake? OK, it appears someone might be a little tired of being lumped in the low-key indie pop pack.

Sure, Ingrid Michaelson's signature "Librarian chic" style remains intact — it's all just a little more va-va-voom in her new music video. Not in a desperate way; in an empowered grown woman way.

Let's be blunt: "Girls Chase Boys" — the bona fide earworm lead single from "Lights Out," the S.I. native's new album dropping April 15 — sounds and looks like nothing less than a play for full-on super-stardom after years of comfortable critical/commercial success.

Billed as an "Homage to Robert Palmer," the simply irresistible track's gender-bending video features male backup dancers in hotpants and full femme makeup. It's already racked up more than 1.4 million YouTube hits, generating a "hailstorm of full-on, angry comment wars."

"For the most part the response is really positive; only one negative comment about the song, but lots from strangers who are homophobic (bleeps)," she says, wryly, during a break from rehearsals for her appearance on "Conan" last night.

"The internet promotes cowardly bravery. People can anonymously take you down. I delete of a lot of comments because I don't want to be a platform for their ignorance ... but I like being part of this conversation about equality."

SEX SYMBOL STATUS?

Speaking of equality, if Katy Perry can exploit Ingrid's singer-songwriter bud, Sara Bareilles ("Brave"), to knockoff — I mean knockout! — one of the year's biggest hits ("Roar"), surely an artist as skilled as Ingrid can exploit her gifts to raise her Top 40 profile, right?

Nah, Stapleton's homegirl isn't angling to be a pop diva anytime soon. "Yes, I have them, so I decided to show some cleavage — but compared to most of what's out there, it's fairly tame," she says, unapologetically. "Now people keep telling me I look like Sarah Palin in that blazer. I warned them but everybody on my team said, 'Nooo, you look good.' This is proof I'm always right to listen to myself."

View full sizeMichaelson will embark on a 27-city tour which kicks off April 21 at Le National in Montreal, Quebec, and will run through June 2 at the House of Blues in Boston.Photo by Shervin Lainez

Case in point: The bespectacled singer-songwriter says "Girls Chase Boys" originated as a "break up song." During the writing process, however, it took on a deeper meaning when it started feeling too "hetero-normative" and exclusive.

"I didn't like that, so the focus shifted to include the idea that, no matter who or how we love, we are all the same," says the 34-year-old de facto poster gal for DIY music distribution. "I changed the tagline from 'Girls chase boys chase girls' to 'Girls chase boys chase boys chase girls,' and that one tiny line opened up the song in a beautiful way. Of course, some people disagree, but they are ignorant (bleeps) who I don't need as fans."

While "Girls Chase Boys" plays as a clever party banger, "Lights Out" is more ambitious, sonically, than her previous indie efforts. Much of the album explores thoughtful, sometimes darker themes based on what she calls the most challenging year of her life.

"For me, this is a very 'coming to terms with mortality record,' my own and that of those around me that I love," she says. "It's about being pushed to your limits and looking for help from something other than yourself. It's about letting go and being all right with that — accepting that."

It's a pretty bold move from a grassroots artist whose introspective-cum-idiosyncratic tunes have spawned a cult following that sells out venues around the globe. They feel ownership over their Ingrid. Even the most subtle switcharoos can turn this type of rabid fanbase into a self-righteously indignant blogosphere commentariat. ("How dare you not be exactly what I idealized you to be?!")

Is Ingrid worried? No, she's too busy living.

"You've got your moment on this planet. Maybe there's more but life for the moment and be in it if you can," she says. "'Lights Out' is a reminder to me that this is all fleeting, so live life to the fullest, love hard and be good to the people around you. Yes, there is a lot of darkness but you gotta find your joy."

PLAYING MUSICAL CHAIRS

Ingrid also pushed her boundaries with the production, choosing a less solitary creative process while recording in New York, Los Angeles and Nashville.

On "Lights Out" she worked with six producers and 10 co-writers, including singer-songwriters Katie Herzig, Trent Dabbs and Busbee (Pink, Katy Perry, Lady Antebellum), as well as A Great Big World and Mat Kearney, with whom she also shares duets.

"I collaborated with many different writers and producers but, ironically, I believe this is the most personal record I've made," Ingrid says. "I feel like I needed others to save me, in a way — to get the darkness out and help turn it to light. I'm so proud of the record and of the many friends who helped me make it — and I cannot wait to perform these songs live!"

The "Lights Out" tour launches April 21 in Montreal and winds throughout the United States before returning to the East Coast for a series of dates in Washington, D.C. (May 23), Pittsburgh (May 25), Clifton Park, NY (May 27), Manhattan's Terminal 5 (May 29), Philadelphia (May 30) and Boston (June 2).

For the uninitiated: Ingrid earned enviable name-recognition thanks to her knack for crafting heartfelt music, many heard in "Grey's Anatomy" episodes (not to mention countless other series since including "American Idol," "Parenthood," and "So You Think You Can Dance"), in a viral Google Chrome ad, and on VH1 as an artist "You Outta Know."

She's sold more than 1 million albums and 5 million singles on her own label, ending up on the cover of Billboard and in the Wall Street Journal as "the new paradigm" in the digital music industry. Her last album, 2012's "Human Again," was her highest-selling debut yet, reaching No. 1 on iTunes and the Top 5 on the Billboard sales chart in its first week.

For those who want to sample the new goods, "Lights Out" started pre-release streaming Tuesday on iTunes.

"I feel like the record release was actually yesterday," Ingrid says, chuckling. "It's out there in the world already. I'm sure someone is downloading it illegally somewhere."